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He came for the cannabis, but in the vast potential of Port Hueneme’s beachfront he sees an opportunity of a different sort. On Monday night, Dan Zaharoni will talk about his vision to bring a beachfront hotel to property near the Hueneme Pier.

If such a project rings a bell, it may be because last year a local development team began pursuing a similar project slightly north. Those plans quickly fizzled after elected officials voted to block the sale of land at Surfside Drive and Market Street, which the city owns.

Port Hueneme also owns land east of the pier, and that’s the land Zaharoni is eyeing, City Manager Rod Butler said.

Specifically, he is looking at Parking Lot B, one of four lots around the pier and beach.

This map shows various parking options near the Hueneme Pier. A developer appears to be eyeing Parking Lot B, owned by the city of Port Hueneme, for a possible hotel.(Photo: CITY OF PORT HUENEME)

“It is not currently for sale, but because it is a city-owned lot, it could potentially be sold for future development,” Butler wrote in an email to The Star. “If the council determines that it is interested in seeing development on that site, the council would direct staff to issue a request for proposals, and any interested developer would then be able to submit a proposal to compete against the Zaharoni plan.”

Any development at the site would be a lengthy process because in addition to city approval, it would need the approval of the California Coastal Commission.

The plans are in the very early stages, Zaharoni said, adding that he’s not even sure how much land is available. But the idea is a three-story hotel with perhaps 110 to 130 rooms, designed in a way so as not to obstruct views from homeowners, he said.

Zaharoni said he was drawn to the site because it offered an opportunity to give residents new options and visitors a reason to visit.

“You have this unbelievably gorgeous beach with nothing on it,” he said.

The resort-style hotel could have a rooftop bar, public areas in front not limited to hotel guest and meeting rooms or ballrooms, he said.

Zaharoni said he recognized the city hasn’t been in favor of development, but Port Hueneme’s demographics and economy are changing so he figured it would be a ”good time to bring it up to the community and present it to the council and see what they think about it.”

Cannabis has shown that people will come to Port Hueneme if you give them a reason, he said.

Monday night’s council meeting will be the first opportunity for the public to learn more about the project.

Zaharoni is a Los Angeles-based real estate developer and chief executive officer of From the Earth, a cannabis company that has a dispensary in Port Hueneme. Zaharoni owns 2675 N. Ventura Road, where From the Earth and another dispensary, SkunkMasters, share space.

He is also chief development officer at Urban Commons, which holds 18 properties, including the Queen Mary in Long Beach, according to Butler and Zaharoni’s LinkedIn profile.

He got into cannabis after meeting two Orange County-based cannabis entrepreneurs, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Groups of residents have consistently opposed beachfront development, with some arguing the city isn’t a tourist destination and its attraction lies in being relatively free from activity.

There was an RV resort proposed in the 1990s near the pier and last year, the council voted 4-1 to oppose a sale agreement that would have allowed area developer Harvey Champlin to begin testing the site for the feasibility of buying and building on it.

At the time, city officials estimated the project would bring in relatively significant revenue for an area with limited building opportunities. In addition to the $2.3 million purchase price, the city would get $64,000 per year in property tax revenues and $750,000 to $800,000 annually in transient occupancy tax revenues (sometimes called bed taxes), according to rough estimates in the staff report.

Zaharoni said it was his understanding last year's proposal would have been significantly bigger than the one on Parking Lot B.

"We’re really just starting a conversation about the possibilities there, and where that goes will be determined by the council and community. We’re excited about the prospect," he said.

Though the city had been spending more than it brought in for several years, the recent 2019-20 spending plan changed that, buoyed by booming cannabis sales and a one-cent sales tax overwhelmingly approved by voters in November 2018.